After the pregame walk incident with Michigan linebacker Devin Bush, and coach Mark Dantonio saying U-M coach Jim Harbaugh’s “bush league” comment was “BS,” Dantonio said he won’t address it going forward.
At least from Sunday onward.
Dantonio: The entire pregame walk incident was 'juvenile'
Michigan defensive back Josh Metellus (14) takes in the sun during the game at Spartan Stadium Oct. 20. The Wolverines defeated the Spartans, 21-7.
Dantonio said in his teleconference Sunday he thought the whole situation Saturday, before and after Michigan State’s (4-3, 2-2 in Big Ten) 21-7 loss to the 5th-ranked Wolverines (7-1, 5-0) was “juvenile.”
“The whole thing to me was sort of juvenile,” Dantonio said. “Things are going to happen in rivalry games. So, I stand by what I said yesterday.”
Some U-M players warming up before Saturday's game, including Bush, didn’t move out of the way during the Spartans’ walk, which MSU does before every game, home or away.
Harbaugh said he was told MSU players "clotheslined" U-M players and ripped defensive back Lavert Hill's headphones off while doing their pregame walk.
Linebacker Joe Bachie said postgame Saturday no team has warmed up before MSU’s pregame walk during his three years in East Lansing.
“We do it every game, and that’s the first time that’s ever happened,” Bachie said.
After the Spartans’ pregame walk, Bush proceeded to tear up the turf in the middle of the Spartan logo at midfield with his cleats.
Bachie said the team didn’t see Bush’s actions live but saw it in the locker room on social media. However, he said that didn’t change MSU’s approach.
“It’s a rivalry, a heated rivalry,” Bachie said. “That’s just what it is. I’ve never seen that before, but whatever, it’s fine. Both teams ready to go. And at the end of the day, we didn’t get it done.”
Harbaugh said in his postgame news conference Saturday the entire incident was “total bush league,” and was told Dantonio was standing 5 yards behind the incident "all smiling."
And Dantonio’s initial response?
“That’s B.S.,” Dantonio said in his postgame news conference Saturday.
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But on Sunday, Dantonio refused to provide a rebuttal to Harbaugh's comments.
“Really not even going to bother commenting on it,” Dantonio said. “I’ve never commented on a coach in the past. I'm not gonna comment on one now.”
Monitoring Brian Lewerke’s injury
Quarterback Brian Lewerke said Saturday he had an unspecified right-shoulder injury after he went 5-of-25 for 66 yards against the Wolverines.
“I tried to go the best I could,” Lewerke said. “The adrenaline helped a little bit — obviously helped last week when I got hurt.”
Dantonio said Lewerke was limited in practice this past week, running the ball, but not throwing. But Dantonio said Lewerke’s injury is healing day-by-day.
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“I think this is a situation that gets better over the course of time,” Dantonio said. “So I think even now, as the week progressed, he felt better. So that’s why he made the decision, and we made the decision that he would play. So, I think it's better today than it was yesterday, so we’ll have to make the decision as we go.”
Dantonio said he wanted to give Lewerke one more series before putting in backup quarterback Rocky Lombardi. That series ended in a three-and-out with 9:19 left in the game.
However, Dantonio said he’s not going away from playing Lewerke, and said he’s “always believed” in the junior quarterback.
“He’s a confident guy on the field and off the field, and he can roll with things,” Dantonio said. “So, if he does have a bad moment, I’ve always believed that he can respond. I have faith in our other quarterbacks too, but I’m always going to give our other guy a chance to put himself in a situation where he's proven himself, and I think he’s done that for us. So, that’s the reason we stayed with him.”
Updates on injured wide receivers; Matt Allen
While Dantonio didn’t talk specifics, he did provide updates on some of the many injuries his team has sustained.
Dantonio said he anticipates wide receiver Felton Davis III will have surgery this week on his torn left Achilles' and will start about a six-month-long rehab and get ready for the NFL Draft. Davis finishes his MSU career with 100 catches for 1,450 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Dantonio also said wide receivers C.J. Hayes and Laress Nelson both didn’t dress because of unspecified injuries suffered against Penn State.
“C.J. Hayes is coming on,” Dantonio said. “He’s had a couple of good weeks of practice.”
However, Dantonio said wide receiver Cody White will be back “sooner rather than later” from a broken left hand suffered in a 30-21 win over Central Michigan Sept. 29, but didn’t specify when.
And on the offensive line, Dantonio said starting center Matt Allen’s injury suffered against U-M is “sort of an unknown right now.”
